JohnC Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 i thought so too, in regards to his contract, but it's not. he's got one more year after this season. jw John, Good piece. The one thing that has always been evident with Donte Whitner is that he is committed to the team. That is not always easy when the team has done poorly during your time with the team. Sometimes he seems to yap too much on his twitter site but with him I always got the sense that he cared.
DrDawkinstein Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 Nice Story John. My only concern is that Donte is a little smallish to take the pounding of a true strong safety...he is kind of a tweener between free and strong...good news is he is probably a bit faster than the typical strong but he might take too much of pounding. All that said--hope he has a career year... Looks like most of the D like the 3-4 and coach Edwards. Donte is listed as 5'10" 208lbs Troy P is listed as 5'10" 207lbs jus sayin, also it helps to be delivering the hits instead of receiving them Go Bills!
joejoebills Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-b...ner&print=1 Whitner is by far the best safety on the team, the reason he doesn't have many pics is due to the fact that his receivers are always covered.
The Dean Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 Great news. I still don't get the Whitner bashing. I thought he did a good job in the Tampa 2 and was versitile enough to play both safety positions and nickel CB. His versatility is really what hurt his rep with many here, IMO. The Bills D has been pretty ravaged with injury the past few years and they used Donte to fill whatever position needed to be filled. That really can't help your overall development at any position. Also, as most here know, the Bills tended to take a passive defensive approach. All-in-all it has been pretty effective, but it doesn't highlight Donte's strengths. Oddly enough, he might have been better off having less versatility and limited to playing one position.
Dawgg Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 i thought so too, in regards to his contract, but it's not. he's got one more year after this season. jw Wawrow is wrong. Donte signed a 5-year contract in 2006. Make no mistake, Donte's playing for his next contract and it probably won't be in Buffalo.
Dawgg Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 Whitner is by far the best safety on the team, the reason he doesn't have many pics is due to the fact that his receivers are always covered. Tell that to opposing tight ends.
The Dean Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 Wawrow is wrong. Donte signed a 5-year contract in 2006. Make no mistake, Donte's playing for his next contract and it probably won't be in Buffalo. 2011 is a voidable year @ $1.95, I believe. I don't know who gets to void the contract, but I assume it is either side. EDIT: And if it is Donte's last year in Buffalo it will be because he wants to test the FA market to see how much he can get.
Dawgg Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 2011 is a voidable year @ $1.95, I believe. I don't know who gets to void the contract, but I assume it is either side. EDIT: And if it is Donte's last year in Buffalo it will be because he wants to test the FA market to see how much he can get. Yeah I believe it's voidable by Whitner, which essentially makes it a formality. Either way, this year is a contract year for him, no questions about it. EDIT: he signed CAA agent Tom Condon this summer (who represents every single QB out there) so I'm sure he'll go wherever he gets max $. Either way, barring a Pro Bowl type year, I'd be hard-pressed to think Nix would pay Whitner big bucks when they already have Byrd on the team.
The Dean Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 Yeah I believe it's voidable by Whitner, which essentially makes it a formality.Either way, this year is a contract year for him, no questions about it. EDIT: he signed CAA agent Tom Condon this summer (who represents every single QB out there) so I'm sure he'll go wherever he gets max $. Either way, barring a Pro Bowl type year, I'd be hard-pressed to think Nix would pay Whitner big bucks when they already have Byrd on the team. Byrd is strictly a FS. And while he is a terrific opportunist and ball-hawk he is a still a little ragged in coverage play in and play out. I think another season should help that though. There is no doubt the Bills would keep Donte for another year for less than $2 mill, if he didn't exercise his option to void. Actually I think a Pro Bowl type year makes it less likely he will stay in Buffalo, as it will drive his value on the open market even higher.
Delete This Account Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 i'll have to check into the Whitner contract. i do know it's formally listed as running through 2011. the voidable part is what i can't recall as to which party controls that. jw ADD: even if it is voidable on Donte's part, i'd expect him to stay patient given the uncertain CBA climate ahead.
Dawgg Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 Byrd is strictly a FS. And while he is a terrific opportunist and ball-hawk he is a still a little ragged in coverage play in and play out. I think another season should help that though. There is no doubt the Bills would keep Donte for another year for less than $2 mill, if he didn't exercise his option to void. Actually I think a Pro Bowl type year makes it less likely he will stay in Buffalo, as it will drive his value on the open market even higher. Donte will opt out regardless of the type of year he has. If he has a Pro Bowl type year, the Bills can then use their franchise tag on him (after all, who else do they have?). And the safety number for the tag isn't nearly as high as some of the other positions so it really wouldn't be a big deal. That way, the team either locks him down for another year or it will trade him for a pick. Yet another mediocre year for Donte means he's gone IMO.
Dawgg Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 i'll have to check into the Whitner contract. i do know it's formally listed as running through 2011. the voidable part is what i can't recall as to which party controls that. jw ADD: even if it is voidable on Donte's part, i'd expect him to stay patient given the uncertain CBA climate ahead. The void is usually held by the player. The team, after all, has an inherent void clause in every contract by virtue of the fact that they can simply cut a player and avoid paying him his salary for that year.
Mr. WEO Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 Donte is listed as 5'10" 208lbs Troy P is listed as 5'10" 207lbs jus sayin, also it helps to be delivering the hits instead of receiving them Go Bills! If that's all your sayin (that they are the same size), fine. This should be the only way these two players are similar to this point. Whitner is by far the best safety on the team, the reason he doesn't have many pics is due to the fact that his receivers are always covered. That was simply not true last season. Hopefully it will be so this season. Jus sayin.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 The void is usually held by the player. The team, after all, has an inherent void clause in every contract by virtue of the fact that they can simply cut a player and avoid paying him his salary for that year. Damn!!! I believe your logic is irrefutable…yep. Can't imagine how you'd be wrong. Sometimes the answer is right in front of our faces. LOL. Well done. Now I feel stupid.
Fingon Posted August 10, 2010 Author Posted August 10, 2010 The void is usually held by the player. The team, after all, has an inherent void clause in every contract by virtue of the fact that they can simply cut a player and avoid paying him his salary for that year. Yes, but teams take large cap hits if they cut a player. If you void a players deal, then I don't think that counts against the cap. It's probably Donte's decision to void the contract (because its a rookie deal), but team do put options for them to void years in player contracts.
Thunderstealer Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 Bills have an active secondary. Picks and hits. Sanchez is gonna piss his pants.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 Yes, but teams take large cap hits if they cut a player. If you void a players deal, then I don't think that counts against the cap. It's probably Donte's decision to void the contract (because its a rookie deal), but team do put options for them to void years in player contracts. True. That acceleration of the cap "hit" would amount to the prorated remainder of the signing bonus, in this case $13.5 million divided by 5 years or $2.7 million. Considering that the Bills currently have less than $1 million in "dead money," this is probably not an issue…if they were to decide to cut Whitner after the season. edit: So if all our speculation is accurate (big if), this is, for all intents and purposes, Donte's contract year. If he has a good season, he'll opt out and test the waters.
Dawgg Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 Yes, but teams take large cap hits if they cut a player. If you void a players deal, then I don't think that counts against the cap. I'm pretty sure it does. Otherwise, it would allow a team to circumvent the salary cap. I find it hard to believe that a team could choose to amortize a signing bonus over the life of a contract then have the luxury of avoiding the accelerated hit by "voiding" a contract.
John Cocktosten Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 He's gone after this year... I hope the Eagles sign him!
Green Lightning Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 Nice piece John. Contract year or not, I'm anxious to see what he does in this defense. I always thought he was a bit undersized for SS given the task of covering TE's. But there are other SS's about his size that are effective. Let's see and approach it with an open mind. It's a new regime, new defense and new era. I think most deserve the benefit of the doubt.
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